September 10th 2004

							                                                          The Diocese of Nottingham
                                                                         ST JOHN FISHER
                                                                  R.C. PRIMARY SCHOOL
                                                Alvaston Street, Alvaston. Derby DE24 0PA
                                                                Telephone: (01332) 572154
                                                                        Fax:(01332)784642
                                                   E-mail admin@stjohnfisher.derby.sch.uk
                                                                    Headteacher: Dr E Field



16th April 2012


Consultation on potential conversion to the Holy Family Catholic multi-academy
trust for some or all of our schools


What has happened so far?

St Alban’s, Saint Benedict, St Elizabeth’s, St George’s, St John Fisher, St Joseph’s and St
Mary’s Catholic Schools have a tradition of working together to support one another in
their mission to offer the best possible Catholic education to our children. Recent changes
in education law have made it even more important for schools to work together in
partnership in order to replace many of the services that used to be provided by our Local
Education Authorities.

The heads of the seven schools have been meeting regularly to explore how they can co-
operate even more closely to develop the best educational practice. They are committed to
helping children make the most of their education, enjoy school, achieve their best, and
gain the highest possible test and examination results. They are also looking at ways they
can get the best value for the services and resources they have to buy in, such as
recruitment, finance, site management, books and equipment. Another major aim is to find
ways to make our Catholic schools have an even stronger presence in our local
communities.

There has also been discussion as to whether our schools should convert to Academies.
In particular, we want to find out the views of our school communities on setting up a multi-
academy trust.

Academies and multi-academy trusts

The government intends that all state schools should become Academies by 2014.
Academies are funded directly from central government and are independent of their LA.
The government’s commitment to Academies means that change is inevitable for all
schools.

Our Nottingham Diocese does not wish Catholic schools to become stand alone
Academies, but it will support families of schools that wish to consider becoming part of a
multi-academy trust, if and when, school governors decide it is the best way forward.
Historically, schools have been given their budgets through LAs. These funds have been
retained by the LAs to pay for central school support services, such as advisors, training,
financial services and Human Resources. Academies have different arrangements. They
receive their funds directly from the government, without any retention and, as more
schools become Academies, LAs will have less income available to them. They will either
have to stop providing services, or else persuade schools to buy into them.

The two local authorities covering our schools are currently in very different positions.
Derby City is now able to offer fewer services than previously, while Derbyshire still offers
a significant level of school support. Six of our schools are in Derby City LA and one in
Derbyshire LA.

The Catholic Education Service of England and Wales (CES) did not immediately
encourage Catholic Schools to consider converting to Academies. There were concerns
about how it might affect the distinctive identity of Catholic schools and about how to make
sure all our schools could remain supported and not be isolated.

Recently, discussions have taken place between CES and the Department for Education.

As a result of these, it is now possible for a family of schools to form a multi-academy trust
under a diocesan shared company. Under this arrangement no schools are left behind, no
external business sponsorship is involved and each new Academy will have its own
distinctive nature within the Trust.

The Diocese of Nottingham has developed a model in which schools can convert as multi-
academy trusts, if and when school governors decide it is the best way forward. The trust
for our schools would be known as The Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, but
each school would retain its own name and identity.

What are the advantages of a multi-academy trust?

There are several funding related advantages:

Academies will receive their full budget, without anything taken out to pay for LA services.
There is no exact figure for how much extra Academies will gain, but the DfE suggests this
may be up to 10% of all school budgets. In Derby City schools this is likely to be about 7%
and for Derbyshire schools in excess of 12%. If LAs are still offering services, schools
might choose to buy them; however, it will be up to the Governing Body of each school to
decide what services are needed and how best to provide them.

There will be advantages regarding VAT. Currently, voluntary aided schools have been
forced to pay VAT on IT items, even down to memory sticks, if the collective value is over
£2000. As our schools spend large sums on IT items, this can represent a very large
amount out of small budgets. Academies still have to pay VAT but are able to reclaim it
all, providing it is spent on items for educational purposes.

Currently our schools pay 10% of the cost of all building projects. As an Academy our
schools will not be required to pay anything.

As part of a Diocesan multi-academy trust our schools may find they can buy and share
resources and services collectively more effectively, and combine their purchasing power
to obtain better value.
Academies must continue to offer a broad and balanced curriculum; however, they are not
bound by national curriculum regulations. Governors are aware that this freedom could
help us protect the Catholic education we wish to provide.

Working together in a multi-academy trust, schools will be able to share their best practice
and loan each other books and other teaching resources. They might choose to work
together on issues such as finance, recruitment and training. They would be well placed to
make sure that pupils move from one key stage to the other even better supported than
they are at present.

How would schools be changed by becoming part of a multi-academy trust?

The Governing Bodies of Voluntary Aided Catholic Schools already manage their school
finances and have responsibility for employment and admissions, so conversion to
Academy Status will not be as big a step as for Local Authority Maintained Schools.
Under the Diocesan model, the majority of governors would continue to be appointed by
the Diocese and there would be staff and parent governors as now. The only difference
would be the establishment of an over-arching multi-academy trust Executive committee,
made up of representatives of each Academy Governing Body, from parents and the
Diocese.

Day-to-day, little would change. Academies would still be bound by the statutory codes for
Special Educational Needs. The Admissions criteria and catchment areas for each
Academy would remain as now. Each Academy in the Trust would manage itself. There
would be no changes to the pay and conditions of staff, to the start and finish times or
length of the school day or the school’s policy on pupil discipline or the school uniform,
unless there was agreement to change after consultation. The Diocese recommends that
the term ‘school’ would be replaced with the term ‘Academy’ so they would be known as
Catholic Voluntary Academies rather than Catholic Voluntary Aided Schools.

All our schools currently have excellent relationships with their LAs and work well in
partnership with other local schools. That commitment to being part of a wider partnership
will remain and we will work with our LAs and local schools and Academies in an
atmosphere of mutual support.

There are concerns that, independent from the LA, Academies will become exclusive,
inward-looking and promote a two tier-education system. There are also concerns about
possible threats to staff pay and conditions. The Nottingham Diocesan model addresses
these concerns. No Diocesan school may become an Academy on its own, but all schools
have the opportunity to convert as part of a family of schools and schools facing difficulties
will be supported. In addition, no school can convert without the consent of the Diocese,
which will ensure that all schools are legally committed to converting under the same
conditions, safeguarding pay and conditions for staff.

What happens next? Who will be consulted?

The governing bodies of the partnership schools are consulting with pupils, parents and
the wider school communities about establishing a multi-academy trust. The consultation
period will run from 16th April 2012 to 19th May 2012.

The Governing Bodies are consulting with all our stakeholders including:
The Nottingham Diocesan Education Service
Parish Priests and the Catholic Community
School Governors
Parents and known future parents
Pupils
Staff including Staff unions and associations
The local Authorities of Derby and Derbyshire
Elected representatives (local MPs, Council members)
The wider local community including voluntary groups associated with the Schools

How can I make my views known?

You are invited to submit your comments using the Stakeholder Feedback form on the
website (www.dbcsmat.co.uk). However, if you are not comfortable sending your
comments via the form you can always write and post your views to any of the individual
schools (addresses below) or email them to Jane Wallage
(jwallage@saintben.derby.sch.uk) who is acting as a central administrator for all schools.
In addition, there will be Consultation Events at 7 pm on Thursday 19 th April at St Alban’s;
at 7 pm on Tuesday 1st May at St John Fisher; at 7 pm on Wednesday 2nd May at Saint
Benedict School (joint hosting with St Mary’s); at 6 pm on Thursday 3rd May at St
Joseph’s; and at 4 pm on Friday 4th May at George’s. A bus will be provided for
stakeholders in Belper to enable those without transport to get to the event at Saint
Benedict, timings will be on the website and available from the school or church.
Additional information may be placed on each school’s website and will be regularly
updated throughout the consultation period. Any views expressed at the consultation
event will be captured and included along with all other comments in the final
consideration by the Governing Bodies.

Before I give my views where can I find out more information?

Along with this document, we have produced a summary to show the main changes that
will take place if a multi-academy trust is established. This can be found on the website.
Further details on the Diocesan multi-academy trust model and a ‘frequently asked
questions’ document are on the Nottingham Diocesan Education Service website at:

http://www.nottingham-diocesan-
centre.org.uk/attachments/article/161/Academies%20paper%20for%20Heads-
Governors.pdf

Further information on Academies provided by the DfE can be found on:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies

Finally

We feel it is important to emphasise the distinctiveness of the Nottingham Diocesan multi-
academy trust proposal. It is based upon our commitment to work together for the good of
all Diocesan schools, so that none are left in a vulnerable position and our Catholic ethos
is maintained and strengthened. Our schools will keep their own identities, together with
their commitment to working with others, within and beyond our local area, for the benefit
of all concerned. The freedoms and resources that Academy status will bring will help our
schools to continue to provide the best possible education for our young people and to
serve our Catholic community. Whatever each individual school decides, the partnership
between them will continue to grow for the greater good of all.

Signed by the Chair of Governors for each of the schools in our family of schools.

Clare Cuomo at St Alban’s                      Claire Groom at St John Fisher

Mike Ray at Saint Benedict                     John Rimmer at St Joseph’s

Robert Hobson at St Elizabeth’s                Anna Zimand at St Mary’s

Reverend Canon Alan Burbidge at St George’s

School addresses:

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School
1 Newstead Avenue, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6NU

Saint Benedict Catholic School & Performing Arts College
Duffield Road, Darley Abbey, Derby, DE22 1JD

St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School
Matlock Road, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 2JD

St George’s Catholic Primary School
Uplands Avenue, Littleover, Derby, DE23 7GE

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School
Alvaston Street, Alvaston, Derby, DE24 0PA

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Mill Hill Lane, Derby, DE23 6SB

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School
Broadway, Derby, DE22 1AU